Holiday for Good | Cambodia

“Deep down I reckon every person wants to make a difference. Maybe we’d all like to change something, but how do we do it? How do we tap into the little part of everyone that wants to change the world and do it in a way that’s really simple?”

Daniel Flynn, MD & Co-Founder Thankyou.

I’ve just returned from a life changing family holiday to Cambodia. We went to see first hand some of the impact we’ve been making to families in need. Needless to say, I’ve come back a different person, for the better.

Partnering with the UN’s Global Goals.

We’re a strong advocate for the UN’s Global Goals as a framework to help business owners make a difference in the world by giving back.

Since we started inspire 5 years ago, we’ve partnered with B1G1 Business for Good as a vehicle that makes business giving easy.

Which of the 17 Global Goals resonate with you most?

With B1G1 you can select from 800 carefully screened, high-impact projects that are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals set by global leaders to create a sustainable future for us all.

Saying “NO” to Necker

Nov 2016 I got an invitation to go to Necker Island to meet Sir Richard Branson and spend a week collaborating with other entrepreneurs at the top of their game on how we could us business to make a bigger impact on the planet.

While it was a golden ticket so to speak, it came with a golden price tag too and so we decided to say NO to necker and instead just make a bigger impact.

That’s where the #GIVE1MDAYS campaign was born. A bold an audacious giving target to Give 1,000,000 Days of Life Changing water to families in need in Malawi. We figured the opportunity that is Necker Island would be there for some time, but for the 1.7 million people who are at risk of disease and even death – all for the lack of a bit of clean drinking water – there was really no time to lose.

Giving 3M Days of Help to Families in Need

The beauty of B1G1 as a giving platform is that you decide how your company will give.

Choose the ways to give that fit in best with your way of doing business. Because your membership fee directly funds B1G1’s developments, innovations, and operations, 100% of your giving goes directly to the projects you choose.

For example,

Imagine if every time someone buys a coffee at a cafe, a child is given access to safe clean drinking water.

Imagine if every time someone gets their tax return done at an accounting firm a family in Kenya is given a Goat.

Imagine if every time someone eats a meal at a restaurant, an orphaned child gets a meal.

B1G1 makes this possible and really makes every business a business for good.

So how do we integrate giving into what we do at Inspire?

With every dollar of tax we proactively save a small business, Inspire helps a person in need for a day – we call it ‘Day for a Dollar’.

(Inspired by how TOMS One for One initiative gives a pair of shoes for every shoe bought or how Zambrero feeds the hungry through ‘Plate 4 Plate’)

As of Dec 2017, we’ve given 3 Million days of access to food, water, hygiene and sanitation services, thanks to our partnership with global giving initiative B1G1 or Buy One Give One.

Why? As Accountants we love numbers, but when we found out that almost a billion people live on about a dollar a day, we knew we had to do something.

We believe that every business has the power to change lives by integrating giving into its everyday activities.

‘Day for a Dollar’ is a simple but powerful example of how together we can end global poverty, for good.

Caption: WE HIT 3 MILLION $3M in proactive tax savings for small business & 3M days of life changing help to families in need, across 16 countries (when we aimed to #GIVE1MDAYS in 2017).

Becoming a Business for Good.

I believe every business should make an impact, otherwise you shouldn’t be in business. I’m not just talking about building wells and feeding the poor. Think –

If you’re a dentist you help people smile.
If you’re a teacher you help people grow.
If you’re a financial planner you help people get freedom.
If you’re a real estate agent you help people get shelter.
If you’re a restaurant owner you help people get nourishment.
If you’re a psychologist you help people get peace of mind.

So why not link the direct impact that your business makes to an additional impact to affect families in need. I call this, becoming a Business for Good.

Become a Dentist for Good and everytime someone gets their teeth cleaned, you provided a regular dental check up for someone in India – $2 via https://www.b1g1.com/projectdetail/718
Become a Teacher for Good and everytime someone completes your course, you provided teaching materials to an ethiopian nursery school – 3 cent via https://www.b1g1.com/projectdetail/483
Become a Financial Planner for Good and everytime someone invests on your advice, you financial planner you help people get freedom.
Become a Real Estate Agent for Good and everytime you sold a house, you provided shelter for an underprivileged person in India – 13c via https://www.b1g1.com/projectdetail/325
Become a Restaurant for Good and everytime someone enjoys a meal with you, you gave seeds to nourish a child in Malawi – 1 cent via https://www.b1g1.com/projectdetail/322.
Become a Psychologist for Good and every time someone completed a session with you, you provided blankets to insulate a child from winter in Moldova – 6 cents via https://www.b1g1.com/projectdetail/723.

You get the point…

I believe that business should be the driving force behind creating a better world, and becoming a Business for Good is how to make that impact.

[Watch] 6 min overview of the B1G1 Business for Good Platform

Cambodia, The Kingdom of Wonder.

Cambodia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. The wounds that have been caused by decades of war, take a long time to heal. Today Cambodia is somewhat politically stable, but many people still lack some basic necessities for everyday life.

The lack of a working infrastructure and the poor economic situation of the country, only serves to highlight the growing problems. The mass-murder of nearly 2 million people by the Khmer Rouge (1/4 of the total population), mostly out of the educated elite, caused a huge mental and spiritual deprivation. Today 40% of the Khmer live below the poverty line.

Unfortunately these problems have a massive effect on the children of Cambodia. Every day is a struggle for survival. Cambodia’s infant mortality rate is 17 times higher than Germany’s.

In their young lives, they are endangered by Diarrhoea, Malaria, Dengue-Fever, HIV, malnutrition, child prostitution and human trafficking. Without access to medical attention and school education, the future of the children is wrapped in darkness.

That’s why we chose Cambodia as a country to give some of the 3M days of access to life changing help.

Here are some of the highlights of our Holiday for Good to Cambodia –

Happiest Kids Ever ❤️ We visited the villages yesterday where we’ve been supporting the building of water wells, filters, toilets & health education in rural Cambodia. Although the children seemed so happy with nothing, they really loved the gifts of toys, books & coloring pens. Thanks to B1G1.

Make An Impact Some of the mums, dads, brothers and sisters, who make up the billion people globally who live on about a dollar a day.

They’ve given us more (life lessons) than we’ve given them today. Thankyou

2 boys, both 10 One won ‘the human lottery’ by being born in the land of opportunity – Australia – the other didn’t. We don’t get to choose where we’re born, but we do get to choose how and why we live. “Live to give”.

Real World Education I wanted to show our kids (6 & 10) that they already live in Disney land, everyday. We wouldn’t let dogs live in the conditions these children call home, that’s why I believe together we can (and we must) end extreme global poverty for good.

Clean Drinking Water I believe that business should be the driving force behind creating a better world. That’s why at Inspire we give a days worth of access to help to families in need, for every dollar of tax saved.

So far we’ve given 3M days worth of access to life changing projects like clean drinking water. Today we went to the remote villages in Cambodia to see first hand the impact we’ve made.

A Bio-Sand Water Filter (pictured) lasts up to two decades or more and is able to provide for an entire family. One of the easiest ways to combat poverty and disease is to provide access to clean water sources.

Together we can end global poverty – https://b1g1.com/projectdetail/675

Life Changing Water What a privilege to meet some of the families impacted by the provision of water wells and bio sand water filters (pictured). You can hear the stats about the world water crises but hearing from the people affected by it, will change your life. You can change theirs by integrating giving into your business too, here is the link to the specific project shown here (and you’ll be amazed at how little it costs) – https://b1g1.com/projectdetail/675

Take a Holiday for Good.

Want to 10x Your Impact? Go and visit the projects you are supporting to see first hand the impact that you are making. Take the family. Take the kids. Take the team. Take your clients. Take your alliance partners. Damn, take your competitors! You might just come home as collaborators!.

But seriously, a Holiday for Good is life changing not just for the families in need, but for you.

I have a personal philosophy that business owners should take 8 – 12 weeks holiday per year and that one of those holidays be a Holiday for Good.

Imagine going to Ethiopia, Laos, Moldova, Morocco, Kenya, Lebanon for a once in a lifetime experience that you couldn’t any other way.

When I do my holiday planning each year – I set aside the 12 weeks of holidays first, then book in everything else around that – I plan for 4 types of holidays.

Bucket List – Somewhere I’ve ALWAYS wanted to go.
Chase the Sun – We love the sea, so somewhere by the beach.
Business ReTREAT – A working holiday where my business partner (and our families) go to work ON our business while having some family time.
Holiday for Good – at the beginning of each year to see first hand the impact we’ve made from a year of giving.

So where are you off to next?

Have More. Give More.

Now you might be asking, “how the hell do I afford to give, take all these holidays and not be in my business for 3 months of the year?!?”

The answer is simple. You get Cashed Up.

In working with thousands of business owners over 5 years we found that most were financially drowning, just keeping their head above water or seriously Cashed Up. Upon reviewing their numbers we found there 7 key mistakes that business owners were making that we’re keeping them Cash Poor. That’s when the Cashed Up Book & 7 Smart Financial Decisions were born.

If you’re in business and you want to pull more money, time and happiness from your business you need to start making smarter financial decisions.

The top 7 Smart Financial Decisions of a Cashed Up Business are –

Cut Tax
Capture Profit
Control Cashflow
Check Numbers
Crank Biz Value
Cover Assets
Create Lifestyle

The Cashed Up Book is launching in March 2018 in partnership with Commonwealth Bank, Xero and Buy One Give One.

Tell Everyone.

I’d like to finish with a quote from a dear friend and mentor Glen Carlson (Co-Founder of Dent Global) who said –

“it’s not about how much you’re giving, it’s about how effectively you are engaging others to give as well.”

So once you’ve decided to make an impact by becoming a Business for Good, I recommend you tell everyone.

SHARE. ENGAGE. INSPIRE.

B1G1 lets you track every single impact you create in real time. You can easily share that with your team and clients via unique tools, such as interactive ‘widgets’ and maps.

Check out some examples of our Impacts –

Our Giving Impacts Widget

Our Giving Impacts Map

Becoming a Business for Good may just be one of the most important things you do this year. For your business, for your life and for the world.

Remember – Dream Big. Make an Impact. Remember Your Roots.

P.s. Stay Tuned for part two as my business partner Ben Walker returns from his Holiday for Good in Kenya